Bereishis/Vaishlach - I Became Small



In Parsha Vaishlach Yaakov returns to Eretz Yisroel after 22 years of working for Laban and learns that his brother Eisav is marching with 400 men towards him in order to kill him. Yaakov becomes frightened and begins to prepare for the encounter. He prayed to Hashem and said that he has become small

קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכׇּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ
I have become small because of all of the loving kindnesses and all of the truth that You have done with Your servant. (Bereishis 32:11)
 
Rashi Explains that the term katanti קָטֹ֜נְתִּי means small, unworthy, humble. Further on we read that Yaakov returned to the other side of the Yabbok river, which Rashi explains he went there to get small jars
 
וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃
And Jacob remained alone (Bereishis 32:25)

Which Rashi explains that he had forgotten some small, katanim jars and he returned for them (Chullin 91a). 
 
Seems like Yaakov is preoccupied with the concept of small. First he prays and characterizes himself as small, then he returns across the Yabbok river to get some small jars there. Why this obsession with small? What's going on? Is this just a coincidence? Knowing Yaakov, we should suspect that he is cooking something, as for example, when he worked for Laban, he was doing some mystical manipulations of the sheep to make them spotted and striped in order to defeat Laban's deceptive schemes to deprive Yaakov of his wages. Is he doing something mystical now as well, with this fixation on the concept of small, in order to defeat Eisav? What could it be?
 
In order to answer this question, we might recall that, according to Rashi, on his way to Laban, Yaakov visited the school of Ever where he stayed for 14 years to learn Torah
 
We learn from this that he (Jacob) concealed himself in Ever’s School for fourteen years and only after that did he proceed to Haran.(Rashi on Genesis 28:9)
 
We further remember that Ever had 2 sons, as Torah informs us

וּלְעֵ֥בֶר יֻלַּ֖ד שְׁנֵ֣י בָנִ֑ים שֵׁ֣ם הָֽאֶחָ֞ד פֶּ֗לֶג כִּ֤י בְיָמָיו֙ נִפְלְגָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ וְשֵׁ֥ם אָחִ֖יו יׇקְטָֽן׃
And to Ever was born two sons; the name of the first, Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided and the name of his brother was Yaktan. (Genesis 10:25)
 
Which Rashi explains that the older son Peleg was so named because Ever was a prophet and foresaw that there will be a division peleg on earth, while younger son Yoktan was so called because he thought little of himself and was humble.

יׇקְטָֽן YOKTAN — He was so called (“the little one”) because he was so humble and thought little (ומקטין) of himself; therefore he merited the privilege of rearing all these families (Genesis Rabbah 37:7). 
 
In other words he thought of himself as small, and hence his father Ever prophetically gave him the name Yoktan, derived from the word katan קְטָֽן or small. There is that concept of small again. Interesting. Rashi also says that because of this smallness, katan, he merited to have all these families. Which families? Of the seventy nations of the world, 13 emerged from Yoktan, more than any other descendant of Noah. Because of his humility, he had 13 sons, who inhabited the world outside Eretz Yisroel:

1.Almodad, 2.Shalef, 3.Chatzarmaveth, 4.Yarach, 5.Hadoram, 6.Uzzal, 7.Diklah, 8.Oval, 9.Avimael, 10.Sheva, 11.Ofir, 12.Chavilah, and 13.Yovav (Genesis 10:25-30)
 
So, while learning in the yeshivah of Ever for 14 years, Ever teaches Yaakov much about Torah, and very possibly, the reason why he called his younger son Yoktan, small, humbled. It is also very likely, that Yoktan also learned at the very same yeshivah, and that Yaakov met him personally and had a chance to learn his humility by direct observation. Yaakov learned that the reward for smallness, humility, is many children, 13 to be precise, and that means survival of the family.

This knowledge will be useful for Yaakov, because he too will have 13 children - 12 sons and daughter Dina, or 13 tribes because of the 12 sons, Yosef received double portion of inheritance which was realized by splitting his lineage into two tribes - Menasheh and Ephraim, so 13 altogether. Also, just like Yoktan's 13 descendants were destined to inherit the land outside of Eretz Yisroel, so also Yaakov's 13 tribes were to inherit the land inside of Eretz Yisroel. That makes Yaakov a mirror image of Yoktan, in addition to being his blood relative, because Yaakov descended directly from Peleg, Yoktan's brother, as described in Genesis 11:16-27

Therefore, when Yaakov was threatened by a war with Esav, and feared that his wives and 13 children might be annihilated, chas ve-shalom, he deployed the only tactic that he knew merits children and right to populate Eretz Yisroel. This powerful spiritual practice is smallness, humility, and that is why he said katanti, in order to make himself small and humble, just as he learned from Yoktan at Ever's yeshivah.

PART 2

There is another very powerful argument that Yaakov brought before Hashem by saying katanti, I have made myself small, in order to defeat Esav. In Talmud (Chullin 60b) we read the following interaction:

רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי כתיב (בראשית א, טז) ויעש אלהים את שני המאורות הגדולים וכתיב את המאור הגדול ואת המאור הקטן אמרה ירח לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד אמר לה לכי ומעטי את עצמך 
Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi raised a contradiction. It is written (Genesis 1:16): 'And God made the two great lights,' and it is also written: 'the greater light' and 'the lesser light.' The moon said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: 'Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to share one crown?' He said to her: 'Go and diminish yourself. 

אמרה לפניו רבש"ע הואיל ואמרתי לפניך דבר הגון אמעיט את עצמי אמר לה לכי ומשול ביום ובלילה אמרה ליה מאי רבותיה דשרגא בטיהרא מאי אהני אמר לה זיל לימנו בך ישראל ימים ושנים אמרה ליה יומא נמי אי אפשר דלא מנו ביה תקופותא דכתיב (בראשית א, יד) והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ושנים זיל ליקרו צדיקי בשמיך (עמוס ז, ב) יעקב הקטן שמואל הקטן (שמואל א יז, יד) דוד הקטן 
The moon said before Him: 'Master of the Universe, since I have spoken a proper matter before You, I should diminish myself?' He said to her: 'Go and rule over the day and the night.' She replied: 'What is the benefit of a lamp in the daylight? What will it help?' He said to her: 'Go and be counted for the days and the years for Israel.' She responded: 'Even the day itself cannot pass without the counting of the seasons, as it is written (Genesis 1:14): 'And let them be for signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years.' He said to her: 'Go, and the righteous will be called by your name.' As it says (Amos 7:2 and Amos 7:5): 'Yaakov the small,' (1 Samuel 17:14) 'Samuel the small,' and (1 Samuel 16:11) 'David the small.
 
חזייה דלא קא מיתבא דעתה אמר הקב"ה הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח והיינו דאמר ר"ש בן לקיש מה נשתנה שעיר של ראש חדש שנאמר בו (במדבר כח, טו) לה' אמר הקב"ה שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח 
He saw that the Moon was not at peace. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: 'Bring an atonement offering for Me, because I diminished the Moon.' This is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: 'What is different about the goat of Rosh Chodesh, for it is written (Numbers 28:15): "It is for the Lord"? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: "This goat shall be an atonement for the fact that I diminished the Moon. (Chullin 60b)
 
From this discussion, in short, we learn that after the Moon complained, she was ordered to reduce herself and rule by night. She was not content, so the Master of the Universe reminded her that even the tzadikim are called small, such as Yaakov. The Moon was still not at peace, so as a final remedy, The Holy One, Blessed be He, asked her to bring an offering, a goat (Hebrew seir שֶׂעִיר) on Rosh Chodesh.

The key to understanding this story is provided by Midrash in Bereishit Rabbah 6.3 where is states that Yaakov corresponds to the Moon, because he uses a Lunar calendar, while Esav corresponds to the Sun, because he uses the Solar calendar

Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Yosei bar Ilai: It is only proper for the greater [older] one to count by the greater thing, and the smaller [younger] one to count by the lesser thing. Esau counts [its years] by the sun, which is the greater, and Jacob counts [its years] by the moon, which is the lesser.
Rav Naḥman said: And this is a good portent. Esau counts by the sun, which is the greater. Just as the sun has dominion during the day and has no dominion at night, so Esau has a share in this world and has no share in the World to Come. Jacob counts by the moon, which is lesser. Just as the moon has dominion during both night and day, so Jacob has a share in both this world and in the World to Come. (
Bereishit Rabbah 6.3)
 
That means that when God ordered the Moon to make herself smaller, that meant, metaphorically, that He ordered Yaakov to make himself small, and he fulfilled God's will, however he was not "at peace". As a consolation, God requested that a goat (Hebrew seir שֶׂעִיר) be offered on Rosh Chodesh. 

We can now unravel the mystery of Yaakov's katanti prayer. He is saying to God: just like I fulfilled Your will, and made myself small when I stood before you as the Moon, please allow me to fulfill your will this time as well, to offer a goat on Rosh Chodesh as my consolation. And who is that goat? The goat in Hebrew is seir , שֶׂעִיר , and seir is Esav, as it says 
וְאֵ֛לֶּה תֹּלְד֥וֹת עֵשָׂ֖ו אֲבִ֣י אֱד֑וֹם בְּהַ֖ר שֵׂעִֽיר׃
These are descendants of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir (Bereishis 36:9)
 
Seir also means hairy, which was Esav. So, Yaakov is praying to God, saying, just as I made myself small, katanti, by your will, let me now fulfill your will to offer the hairy goat, i.e. Esav, to you, for Rosh Chodesh, as an offering. This wish was granted to him and Yaakov defeated Esav's guardian angel, and his name was changed to Israel, and the sun rose for him in the morning, which means he now rules by day as well as by night.


 

Comments

  1. Beautiful explanation of humility and smallness.

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